1997 BUICK CENTURY hood open

To Use the Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. The
cord
is attached to the diagonal brace near the
coolant recovery tank.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 10-volt AC outlet.
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Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock. Also, the wrong
kind
of extension cord could overheat and cause
a fire.
You could be seriously injured. Plug the
cord into a properly grounded three-prong 110-volt AC outlet.
If the cord won’t reach, use a
heavy-duty three-prong extension cord rated for
at least
15 amps.
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4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and
store the cord as it was before to keep it away from
moving engine parts. If you don’t, it could
be damaged.
How long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends
on the outside temperature, the
kind of oil
you have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your Buick dealer in the area where you’ll be parking
your vehicle. The dealer can give you
the best advice for
that particular area.
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Battery Rundown Protection
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from
draining the battery in case you accidentally leave the
interior courtesy lamps, reading/map lamps, visor vanity
lamps, trunk lamp, underhood lamp or glove box lamps
on. If you leave any of these lamps on, they will
automatically turn off after
20 minutes, if the ignition is
in
the OFF position. The lamps won’t come back on
again until you:
0 Turn the ignition on,
0 Turn the lamp switch off, then on; or
Open a door.
Note that if your vehicle has less than
15 miles (25 km)
on the odometer, the battery saver will turn off the lamps
after only three minutes.
Retained Accessory Power (If Equipped)
With retained accessory power, your power windows,
audio system and sunroof will continue to work
up to
10 minutes after the ignition key is turned to the OFF
position and none of the doors is opened.
Mirrors
Adjust all the mirrors so you can see clearly when you
are sitting in a comfortable driving position.
Inside Daymight Rearview Mirror
To reduce glare from lamps behind you, pull the lever
toward you (to the night position).
To return the mirror
back to the day position, push the lever away from you.
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2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach, but be sure the vehicles aren’t touching
each other.
If they are, it could cause a ground
connection you don’t want. You wouldn’t be able
to start your Buick, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
To avoid the possibility of the vehicles rolling,
set the parking brake
firmly on both vehicles
involved
in the jump start procedure. Put your
automatic transaxle
in PARK (P) before setting
the parking brake.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into
the cigarette
lighter or accessory power outlet.
Turn off all lamps
that aren’t needed as well as radios. This will avoid
sparks and help save both batteries. In addition, it
could save your radio!
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NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could be badly
damaged. The repairs wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.
4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries. (Your
vehicle’s battery is located under the windshield
washer fluid reservoir.)
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage and a hot
engine warning light on your instrument panel. See
“Engine Coolant Temperature Gage” and “Engine
Coolant Temperature Warning Light” in the Index. You
also have a low coolant warning light on your
instrument panel. See “Low Coolant Light” in the Index.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see
or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there is no sign of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in
it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine
if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine
is cool.
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NOTICE:
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (a).
If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer. If you
no longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just
to be safe, drive slower for about 10 minutes.
If the warning doesn’t come back on, you can
drive normally.
If
the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign
of steam, you can idle the engine
for two or three minutes while you’re parked,
to see if
the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning,
turn ofthe engine and get everyone out of the
vehicle
until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but
to get service
help right away.
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Hood Release
To open the hood, first pull
the handle inside the vehicle,
located just below the
instrument panel and
to the
left
of the steering column.
Then
go to the front of the vehicle and release the
secondary hood release. Lift the hood.
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When you open the hood on the 3 100 (Code M) Engine, you’ll see:
A. Windshield Washer Fluid
B. Radiator
Fill Cap
C. Remote Positive Battery Terminal
Reservoir
D. Power
Steering Fluid Reservoir
E. Engine Oil Fill Cap
F. Engine Oil Dipstick
G. Automatic Transaxle
Fluid Dipstick
H. Brake Fluid Reservoir
I. Engine Coolant Recovery Tank
J. Air Cleaner
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Electrical System
Add-on Electrical Equipment
NOTICE:
Don’t add anything electrical to your Buick
unless you check with your dealer first. Some
electrical equipment can damage your vehicle
and the damage wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty. Some add-on electrical equipment
can keep other components from working as
they should.
Your vehicle has an air bag system. Before attempting to
add anything electrical to your Buick, see “Servicing
Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick” in the Index.
Headlamp Wiring
The headlamp wiring is protected by a circuit breaker in
the underhood electrical center.
An electrical overload
will cause the lamps to go on and off, or in some cases
to remain
off. If this happens, have your headlamp
system checked right away.
Windshield Wipers
The windshield wiper motor is protected by a circuit
breaker and a fuse.
If the motor overheats due to heavy
snow, etc., the wiper will stop until the motor cools. If
the overload is caused by some electrical problem, have
it fixed.
Power Windows and Other Power Options
Circuit breakers in the fuse panel protect the power
windows and other power accessories. When the current
load
is too heavy, the circuit breaker opens and closes,
protecting the circuit until the problem is fixed.
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